


I’ll be always coming back to you

by ian_richter



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Human Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Human Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Human North (Detroit: Become Human), M/M, Merman Simon, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, No Beta, Sea Monsters, Simon is a merman, alternative universe, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24218935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ian_richter/pseuds/ian_richter
Summary: Markus falls from his surfboard and nearly drowns. But there’s someone who saves him
Relationships: Markus/Simon (Detroit: Become Human)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So here we are. This is my first ever English written piece, so please point out my mistakes (I’m sure there are plenty of them). I’m trying my best ‘cos English isn’t my native language.  
> Might post the second part later (it takes kinda long time to translate it properly, so I’m sorry)
> 
> Anyway. Enjoy

Markus inhaled sharply and coughed. The sun was shining, blinding him, and all around was wet and smelled with salt and cold air. Markus narrowed his eyes and groaned painfully, trying to clear his throat. He tried to move, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move at all and his head hurt.

“Hello?” a quiet voice called.

Markus blinked and tried to look around. Above him, he could see the overcast sky, still a little bit murky, and the blinding disk of the sun peeking out of somewhere from the side. Markus realized that he was lying on his back, and smithereens of pebble were stabbing his back, and that someone else was there.

“Hey? You okay over there?”

Someone leaned over Markus. Through a strange dark haze he saw someone’s eyes – unfamiliar, bright, blue eyes, they were staring at him concerned. Markus groaned again and stirred without even trying to see the stranger above him. The blue eyes disappeared. The stranger’s voice was mumbling something, but Markus’ head ached so bad that he couldn’t get a word.

“Hello? Hello!”

Markus chocked on a cough. Something cold and wet touched his neck, half unzipping his wetsuit, then it felt his sternum, slid along his ribs to where his heart was pounding. The voice began to mutter, and Markus paused as he wanted to speak. The stranger’s voice became gurgling, snarling, it sounded snapping as if it was the crunch of pebbles or the rustle of waves.

“What?” Markus looked to his left, drew back weakly.

A pair of ice-blue eyes were staring at him, concerned and worried. It occurred to Markus that it was a guy. Markus let out a sigh and calmed down – just an ordinary guy who was sitting in front of him, but the thing was… Markus’ heart sank and he jerked to the side, terrified. The guy had ugly scratches on his neck. As Markus drew a little bit closer, he saw that there were no scratches, there were _gills_. In panic he started back. He looked down slowly and saw silvery scaly tail, and it was lying around them and circling them both. “Oh my god,” thought Markus.

“Don’t be afraid!” cried a… _a merman_? Markus thought that yes, this guy was a real merman. “It’s all right, I got you out.”

There was a hint of relief in the merman’s voice, and his hands were trembling, Markus noticed for the first time by now. The merman let out a shaky breath and ran his hands over his face. Markus saw webbing between pale fingers. The merman looked him straight in the eye: the look was so piercing that Markus startled and moved aside, but he got into the tail of the merman and jerked back.

“Got me out? Wh…” Markus coughed again and propped himself up on one elbow. “What?”

“Well, you were hit by a strong wave, you fell off the surfboard and it hit you and you went down,” the merman got comfy on the pebbles, bending part of his tail under him. “You started to sink and nearly drowned, but I got you out and revived you. You had me so scared.”

“I– Had you scared?” a slight pause followed. Markus stared at the strange creature in front of him, disbelieving and speechless. When he opened his mouth, desperate to ask something that was on the tip of his tongue and unable to catch, the merman raised his hand in a reassuring gesture.

“I won’t hurt you.”

“Okay, okay. Then… let me out. I mean… put away your tail.”

“Oh, sorry!”

The merman began to crawl away with a guilty smile, hastily unfolding the rings of his tail, a very long and huge tail. Markus noticed tail fin leaves furrows in the sand. He watched the merman moved, stuttered removing his huge tail and laying it aside, spreading its thin side fins. Only now did Markus draw attention to the fact that the tail was shimmering silver.

“Nice tail,” Markus uttered without thinking about it.

The merman gave him unreadable look. And to think about it – Markus stunned, feeling kinda immobile. The merman narrowed his eyes and nodded. In the silence, trying to avoid embarrassment, Markus unzipped the top of his wetsuit; the merman had it only half done.

“Uh, could you help me get to the water?” the merman asked with a frail voice. “I had to drag you away from the sea, and I sat here with you for quite a long time so I could revival you and all the stuff. Now I feel kinda…”

“Sick? You need water?”

“Yes,” he had a woeful, fixed expression and his eyes were a little unfocused. The merman was about to faint or something, and Markus felt he knew nothing to do.  
Markus got up – fingertips at his temple – and staggered over to the merman. He froze up, not knowing what to do.

“Ugh… How am I supposed to… do this?”

The merman shook his head, as if saying he didn’t care. Markus felt a petty pang of anxiety, while the merman was getting weaker.

“Sorry then.”

Markus crunched down in front of the merman, examining him from head to tail. He was bigger than a regular man, and probably heavier. Markus took the merman under the back with one hand and a grimace on his face – pale skin was disgustingly slimy like a dead man’s. With his other hand Markus took the merman under his knees, or somewhere where he thought the ‘knees’ were. And Markus went to the water. He kept hobbling along with the incredibly heavy merman in his hands and a hitch in his step as if he had his leg broken. When Markus finally made it to the water, he set the merman on the sand and straightened up. After a moment’s thought, he pulled the merman to the water’s edge; he waited. A few minutes later the merman came back to his senses. He dragged his tail into the water, swam a little in the shallow water and leaned out of it.

“Thanks,” said the merman, bowing his head.

“Thank _you_ , actually,” said Markus. He sat on the sand with his head in his hands, looking at the sea. “And what’s your name? Do you have any?”

The merman hesitated.

“My name’s Simon. See you, Markus,” his ice-blue eyes flickered for a long-long moment and he dived. His tail fin flashed among the waves. Stunned, Markus was left alone.

The merman – _no, Simon_ – was strange. His appearance was nice to look at, Simon-human was okay, but the lower half of his body… Markus couldn’t help noticing that, although the tail looked creepy at first, his silver scales matched his ice-blue eyes. Markus looked at the sea and grinned.

“See you, Simon.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes your friends keep secrets you don't know about

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read carefully, please.  
> Today’s DBH’ birthday so please let’s be kind to each other. I found out yesterday that some fake information about Gavin's death was leaked, and I was upset that some ppl started "celebrating" his death. I’m okay with his character but if you don’t that’s fine! It’s okay not to like a character! Here’s a hint on Gavin, so if you don’t like him please just walk by.  
> Let’s spread positivity here! Be kind to each other, respect each other.  
> If you read what I wrote above and decided to stay and read the chapter – enjoy, but first of all a little note. Please point out my mistakes if there are any.  
> I decided to give Nines a human name, Richard. Hope you don’t mind :)  
> And now – enjoy

“How did he know my name?” thought Markus as he swam to the spot where he started surfing this morning. He couldn’t throw this thought out of his mind.

It was good: Markus’ decision to go surfing alone. He didn’t know for how long he’d been away, he didn’t know for how long he was out of his senses. His friends would’ve been agitated, would’ve bombard him with lots of questions, would’ve been terribly worried. Markus loved and treasured his friends, he supported them and helped them as much as he could. Usually he shared his experiences and troubles with his friends, but today he didn’t say anything. He didn’t mention the incident or the mysterious creature that had actually saved him.

When Markus returned to Andersons’, to where they all met every night, and North became agitated and started asking if he was okay and if anything had happened; Markus expected that, this was predictable, so he wasn’t surprised. She’s always been like that. Josh only asked why Markus came back later than he usually did. And only the insightful Connor gave Markus an odd look and said significantly nothing to his awkward answers. An ugly light showed in his brother’s eyes.

“Markus, can I have a word with you?”

Connor sat down on the sofa beside Markus. No one was there but they the only two, and Markus realized that there was no escape. The thought got on his mind – Connor noticed something unusual and was about to find out what was it. He was a little scared – he didn’t know what to expect.

“Markus, what happened? What’s wrong with you? Don’t say you’re fine, you don’t seem to be fine. And don’t give bullshit to me. To North and Josh you can, but not to me. You won’t fool me.”

Markus gave a sigh. Connor looked at him curious, a little bit thoughtfully, waiting for something. Markus wondered if he should tell him about that… little adventure. Connor might overreact or might start asking for details, and Markus was kinda afraid of him and his thorough nature. But at the same time, Connor was the one Markus could trust. Connor was talkative and sometimes impetuous, but he knew how to keep his mouth shut.

“I fell off my surfboard today. I was hit by a wave, actually,” Markus began, not knowing how to continue. Connor looked at him calmly. “I nearly drowned, but… _someone_ got me out.”

“Oh, so you’re feeling this way – moping around with unhappy look – because of that someone? The one that got you out?”

“Well… Yeah.”

Markus glanced at Connor. He leaned back on the sofa, still looking at him calmly. He looked… understanding. He gave a soft little smile.

“It was a merman, am I right?”

“Sorry?” Markus asked with surprise, turning his head sharply towards Connor. He looked at Markus with a faint gentle smile, and his eyes were dancing with amusement.

“Or was it a mermaid?”

“Um…”

“Probably, it was a merman. The mermaid couldn’t get you out, you’re heavy,” reasoned Connor, peering at Markus inquisitively.

Markus stared at Connor, confused. What the hell was going on?! Today was a day of incredible discoveries! First of all: Markus found out that the mermen exist and met one of them face to face. Now he found out that Connor knows about their existence and is okay with this. Cool. What’s next?

“How…” Markus couldn’t find any words to express what and how he felt right now.

“How did I know?” Connor crossed his legs and grinned at Markus. “Do you remember last summer? And I tell you what, how do you think why Richie doesn’t like the sea anymore? Why he refuses to be near it? As you remember, he used to like swimming and surfing. The thing that happened to you happened to him, too. Except one moment: the merman nearly injured him.”

Markus froze, shocked. Now he realized why Richard had been glaring at them when they wanted him to go to the beach; now he realized why Richard didn’t go swimming with them: sometimes he stood at the water’s edge, nothing more. He looked at the horizon and frowned, muddying the water with his foot. What could’ve happened back then?

“Defending himself, Richie wounded that merman, but he’s not a bad guy, he’s not. I know he did the wrong thing, but,” Connor hesitated. “But I understand him. I’d rather live, too.”

“So,” began Markus, trying to find right words. “So, you both know about them? About mermen?”

“Yeah,” Connor said easily. The whole situation seemed to amuse and entertain him. “If you want, I introduce you to… to our friend. To the merman that got Richie out. He and my brother really can’t stand each other and when we meet, they always are at each other’s throats, quarrelling! I’m extremely sick of it, but I think there’s something between them.”

“There’s something…” Markus repeated blankly. He couldn’t believe what was happening. He sat here with Connor discussing mermen with him. That’s crazy. The world gone mad.

“Markus, you can talk to me about anything, if you feel to. And about this, too. If something happens, just call or text me, okay?”

Markus nodded.

“Ugh, I’m sorry, I’m rather pressed for time at the moment. Richie and I are going out to the store to get some snacks for Gavs. Well, see you.”

Connor stood up, clapped him on his shoulder and stepped out. Shocked and confused at the same time, Markus was left alone, looking at his hands and thinking about what his friend had said.

Markus got home late. In the flickering darkness of his bedroom, he was thinking about this crazy day. A belated sense of strange bewilderment came over him. Markus was thinking about Connor’s words; then he was thinking about Simon – this was a peculiar feeling – again and again. Markus recalled how terrified he was when he saw the gills and the tail; how terrified he was when he saw merman’s face glimmered white and how nasty his skin was to touch. He came to the conclusion that he can accept the fact of mermen’s existence. After all, there always were a lot of legends about various magical creatures, so why not to meet one of them face to face? Suddenly, Connor’s soft, I-know-how-it-feels-for-the-first-time smile came to mind.

The merman was weird. Not in a bad way, but not in a good way either. He was mysterious, and there was something strange and incomprehensible about him. For example, how did he know Markus’ name? Markus didn’t tell it to him. Might it be one of Simon’s ”super powers“? It might, probably. Markus looked out of the window – the vast expanse of the sea far away was dark, the cloudy dot of the moon was breathtaking to look at; and he thought about the ice-blue eyes. Simon’s eyes were clear and pale, breathtaking, eerily transparent. Markus knew that people never have eyes like Simon’s; nor they have a tail with silvery scales, or wet reddish gills that stand out vividly against the slightly blueish skin. Markus shivered. The image in his mind was as clear as if he was there again: the silvery tail – heavy, cold, slimy and wet, it dragged along their way to the water. Most likely, the thin layer of mucus left on the tail prevented it from dehydrating or something. Markus shuddered. The memories were fresh and were bouncing in his head: what if something had gone wrong and the merman hadn’t had time to get him out?

Lulled by a gentle wind that stirred the curtains, with all these thoughts on his mind, Markus fell asleep.

A few days later Markus came back to the sea, stopping at the Anderson’s on the way, but the twins weren’t at home. After a moment’s thought, Markus went alone. He didn’t take his surfboard with him. He sat on the edge of the pier and stared out at the distant waters.

“How weird it is,” Markus muttered to himself as he stared at the glare on the water. “So… I’ve never been alone here all this time…”

It was almost noon. Markus was still sitting on the pier, with his feet dangling in the water; warm waves lapped his knees. It was pretty spooky – it seemed that if he put his foot a little bit deeper that’ll be it, he will immediately be dragged to the bottom by a strange creature from the depths of the sea.

Markus chuckled at this nonsense.

Markus was so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he didn’t notice a huge shadow; it flickered under the pier, wag its tail and disappeared.


End file.
